Lord Have Mercy

Whitney Merritt
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Life is messy, but God's mercy is greater. Join Whitney Merritt for honest conversations about faith, redemption, and the ways God meets us in our hardest moments. Through real stories of struggle, healing, and hope, each episode explores the beauty of God's grace in everyday life. Whether you're walking through a difficult season or simply looking for encouragement, you'll be reminded that no one is beyond the reach of God's mercy. Where have you seen the mercy of God in your life?

  1. Oct 16

    God Writes The Best Stories: Through Foster Care & Adoption | Ashley Newman

    What happens when you say yes to God without knowing where that yes will lead? This week on Lord Have Mercy, I’m joined by my dear friend Ashley Newman, whose journey through foster care and adoption is one of the most beautiful stories of God’s faithfulness I’ve had the privilege of witnessing. Before Ashley and her husband, Jacob, ever had biological children, they knew God was calling them to foster. They opened their home expecting older children, but God had a different plan. What followed was a journey of unexpected placements, three children who became their own, devastating goodbyes, months of grief, and a phone call that changed everything. Ashley shares what it was like to love children without knowing if they would stay, to trust God through a system she couldn’t control, and to experience the incredible joy of welcoming those same children home again. We also talk about the beauty and heartbreak of foster care, the road to adoption, and the importance of saying yes to God’s invitations—even when we don’t have all the answers. Ashley offers a powerful reminder that fostering doesn’t have to be a lifelong commitment to make an eternal impact. Sometimes God is simply asking us to be faithful with what’s right in front of us. In this episode, we talk about: How Ashley knew she was called to foster before marriageThe unexpected yes that led to her three childrenThe heartbreak of reunification and learning to trust God through lossThe unforgettable phone call that brought her children back homeGoing from zero to six children and eventually becoming a forever familyGod’s faithfulness in the details and timing of adoptionWhy foster care isn’t the only way to support vulnerable childrenTrusting God with the next step instead of needing the whole planWhether you’ve considered foster care, walked through unexpected loss, or simply wondered what God might be asking of you, this conversation is a reminder that you never know what God might do with your yes. 🎧 Listen now to Lord Have Mercy and be encouraged by a story only God could write.

    God Writes The Best Stories: Through Foster Care & Adoption | Ashley Newman

  2. Oct 9

    Worship: The Soundtrack Of My Walk With Jesus | Whitney Merritt

    In my very first solo episode of Lord Have Mercy, I’m sharing something God has been laying on my heart: the power of worship. For the past 15 years, worship music has been the soundtrack of my walk with Jesus. From returning to my faith in my twenties, to traveling the world on the mission field, to walking through miscarriage, infertility, job loss, and seasons of uncertainty, certain songs have reminded me of who God is when my circumstances made it hard to see Him. I’m sharing the songs that shaped my faith, helped me release shame, taught me to trust God in the unknown, and reminded me that He’s just as good in the valley as He is on the mountaintop. We’ll talk about what worship really is, why what we allow into our hearts and minds matters, and how filling our lives with God’s truth can change the way we experience even the hardest seasons. Because worship doesn’t always change our circumstances, but it can change our hearts in the middle of them. Whatever season you’re walking through, I hope this episode encourages you to keep worshiping, keep trusting, and remember that God is still good.

    Worship: The Soundtrack Of My Walk With Jesus | Whitney Merritt

  3. Oct 2

    Rooted In Every Season | Jamie Crutchley

    What if the season you’re walking through right now is preparing you for something you can’t yet see? In this episode of Lord Have Mercy, I sit down with my friend Jamie to talk about Seasons—a women’s ministry born from a desire to help women slow down, meet with God, and stay rooted in Him through every season of life. But this conversation became about so much more than a ministry. Jamie shares how God called her away from a six-year teaching career before she fully understood why—and how months later, an unexpected kidney stone led doctors to discover cancer in her husband, Chris. Looking back, she could see the kindness and provision of God in preparing their family for a season they never saw coming. We talk about trusting God when circumstances don’t make sense, learning to lament instead of rushing past pain, practicing gratitude, repentance and forgiveness, and remembering God’s faithfulness so we can trust Him with whatever comes next. Because seasons change. Circumstances change. Plans change. But Jesus doesn’t. And sometimes faith looks like simply asking, “God, give me eyes to see what You’re doing in this season.” Wherever you find yourself today—winter, spring, summer or fall—you can remain rooted in the One who never changes.

    Rooted In Every Season | Jamie Crutchley

  4. Sep 25

    Seeing God In Suffering & Stewarding Your Story Well | Sarah Buck

    What if the thing you’ve prayed for God to remove becomes one of the places you experience Him most deeply? In this episode of Lord Have Mercy, I sit down with my friend Sarah Buck. Sarah shares her journey through years of unexplained illness, debilitating neurological symptoms, countless doctors, treatments, chronic pain, and seasons when her body simply would not do what she needed it to do. But underneath the story of illness is an even deeper story: one of surrender. We talk about what happens when God strips away the identities we’ve built around what we do and reminds us that being His daughter is enough. We talk about the temptation to “pole vault” over grief straight to God’s promises, and why faith doesn’t require us to pretend that something painful isn’t actually painful. Sarah also shares the words from a doctor that changed the way she viewed her suffering: “Steward this well.” This conversation is about letting people into our pain, praying when we don’t have answers, waiting actively and expectantly, and recognizing that healing doesn’t always look the way we imagined it would. Sometimes God’s mercy looks like deliverance. And sometimes His mercy is meeting us right in the middle of the thing we desperately wanted Him to take away. If you’re walking through suffering, chronic illness, grief, unanswered prayer, or a waiting season, I hope this conversation reminds you: God is still present. He is still working. And your story—even the part you never would have chosen—can still be held and used by Him.

    Seeing God In Suffering & Stewarding Your Story Well | Sarah Buck

  5. Sep 18

    Choosing Rock Bottom, Breaking Unhealthy Cycles, and Healing Generational Patterns | Dawn Rodriguez

    What if the patterns you inherited don’t have to become the patterns you pass down? In this episode of Lord Have Mercy, I sit down with Dawn Rodriguez, director of The Living Vine in Savannah, Georgia, a ministry serving women experiencing pregnancy in the midst of crisis. Dawn shares her own story of growing up in generations of dysfunction, experiencing brokenness in her own life, and eventually reaching a place where she decided: the cycle stops here. We talk about what it really looks like to renew your mind, grieve the life you thought you would have, take responsibility for what you can change, and surrender the rest to God. We also talk about perfectionism, parenting, fear, community, and why healing is often a much slower process than we want it to be. And maybe one of the greatest reminders from this conversation: our job is to plant, water, and be obedient. God is responsible for the growth. God doesn't waste our pain. He doesn't waste our mistakes. He doesn't waste the years that felt lost. In His mercy, He can redeem all of it—and sometimes we won't see the fruit until generations later.

    Choosing Rock Bottom, Breaking Unhealthy Cycles, and Healing Generational Patterns | Dawn Rodriguez

  6. Sep 17

    Magic In The Messy Middle & Learning Our Unique Temperaments | Lindsay Peaster

    What if the messy middle is exactly where some of the most beautiful growth happens? In this episode of Lord Have Mercy, I’m back in my hometown at Morgan County Middle School with my friend Lindsay—inside one of the sweetest classrooms I’ve ever experienced: Middle Grounds, a student-run coffee shop where middle schoolers are learning so much more than how to make a cup of coffee. We talk about understanding our unique temperaments, communicating with people who are wired differently than we are, building confidence, doing hard things even when we’re anxious, and learning to lead ourselves well so we can lead others well. But we also talk about Lindsay’s own journey—how years of experiences as a speech-language pathologist prepared her for this classroom, and what happened when she was willing to dream, take the next step, and follow an idea that had been placed on her heart. The middle can be messy. But God has a way of meeting us there, using every stepping stone, and reminding us that sometimes the place that feels like the middle is exactly where He’s growing something new.

    Magic In The Messy Middle & Learning Our Unique Temperaments | Lindsay Peaster

  7. Sep 4

    Waiting On What’s Next & Surrendering Your Dreams To God’s Plan | Melissa Martin

    In this deeply honest conversation, Whitney sits down with her dear friend Melissa Martin to talk about the ache of asking God, “What’s next?” and the freedom that comes from surrendering the answer back to Him. From friendship and faith to grief, healing, motherhood, ministry, and the unexpected ways God uses waiting seasons, this episode is a tender reminder that you don’t have to know the whole plan to be faithful today. Melissa shares the story behind her years-long prayer, her journey through pain, surgery, empty nesting, and church planting, and how Yoga Faith became a place of healing and stillness with Jesus. Together, Whitney and Melissa reflect on the beauty of prayer, the power of keeping your eyes on Jesus, and the truth that God often does His deepest work in the very seasons we’d rather rush through. If you’re in a season of waiting, wrestling with disappointment, or longing for clarity about your future, this conversation will meet you right where you are. Melissa encourages us to be where our feet are, take the next step, and trust that God is working even when you can’t see the full story yet.

    Waiting On What’s Next & Surrendering Your Dreams To God’s Plan | Melissa Martin

  8. Aug 28

    Sowing, Waiting, Reaping: Walking With God Through Different Seasons (Summer) | Whitney Merritt

    In this episode of Lord Have Mercy, I’m sharing a message I recently gave at Seasons, a summer women’s gathering about planting, waiting, harvesting—and what those rhythms can teach us about walking with Jesus. Because sometimes faith feels a lot like planting seeds in dirt you can’t see through. We pray. We wait. We obey. Sometimes we even plant through tears, wondering if anything is happening beneath the surface. But Scripture reminds us that the harvest never comes before the planting—and God is always at work, even when we can’t see it yet. I share some of the seasons in my own life that have required me to keep planting through heartbreak, loss, uncertainty, and waiting, and why I believe our stories of God’s faithfulness are too important to keep to ourselves. Your testimony matters. Someone may be standing in the field you’ve finally walked out of, and hearing what God has done in your life could give them the hope they need to keep going. And ultimately, producing fruit isn’t about striving harder. Jesus simply asks us to remain in Him. So wherever you find yourself today—planting, waiting, weeping, growing, or finally harvesting—I hope this episode reminds you that God is faithful in every season. Nothing is wasted. The harvest is coming. Stay rooted. And when you see His faithfulness—tell somebody.

    Sowing, Waiting, Reaping: Walking With God Through Different Seasons (Summer) | Whitney Merritt
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Life is messy, but God's mercy is greater. Join Whitney Merritt for honest conversations about faith, redemption, and the ways God meets us in our hardest moments. Through real stories of struggle, healing, and hope, each episode explores the beauty of God's grace in everyday life. Whether you're walking through a difficult season or simply looking for encouragement, you'll be reminded that no one is beyond the reach of God's mercy. Where have you seen the mercy of God in your life?

Information

  • Creator
    Whitney Merritt
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Whitney Merritt
  • Show Website
    Lord Have Mercy

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